She was crowned Miss Jamaica Universe 2010 on July 3, 2010, and represented Jamaica at the Miss Universe 2010 pageant in Las Vegas on August 23, 2010 run by Donald Trump. Phillipps scored the highest in swimsuit and came in second in evening gown, entering the final question round in second place with a score of 8.884. She became the first runner up behind Mexico.

Phillipps currently holds a bachelor's degree of fine arts with a concentration in dance from The College at Brockport, State University of New York and a master's degree in Recreation and Leisure Management. After the Miss Universe pageant, Phillipps appeared in an American ad campaign for the car brand Toyota.[5] Phillipps has also appeared in commercials for Pepsi Refresh in the US and the Sprite campaign in India.[3] Yendi Phillipps has also appeared in publications such as Skywritings magazine, Caribbean Beat magazine, Woman & Home, Fair Lady, Buzz, Collage, Soul, Basia and Ocean Style.[3] Phillipps has also hosted Digicel Rising Stars. On April 22, 2012, Yendi announced via her Facebook fan page that she was pregnant.On September 21, 2012, she gave birth to a 7-pound, 11 ounces baby girl.[6]